Laboratory Tests of Old Reinforced Concrete Precast Bridge Beams

Every year all over the world many concrete structures are being disassembled for various reasons. The idea of reuse of whole structural members from disassembled or renovated structures is not a new problem but still it is not well recognized. In Department of Structural Engineering of Silesian University of Technology a wide research program was undertaken concerning acquisition and reuse of steel members [1], RC and PC members [2], [3], [4] and timber ones [5], [6]. Especially reinforced concrete precast members seems to be appropriate to be subjected the procedure of reuse [7]. The paper presents the tests and investigations focused on precast elements typical for bridge structures. These are reinforced concrete I-shaped beams, obtained from the demolition of road viaduct on the route from Gliwice to Mikołów. The elements have been in service for more than 40 years. The laboratory tests consisted of the mechanical part and chemical part. The overarching goal of conducted analyses is to work out the method of usefulness evaluation of structural elements and to provide the guidelines for required tests preceding their reuse.